These are the new things your iPhone can do with iOS 16.2

With iOS 16.2, Apple released an update of its iPhone operating system on Tuesday. New versions of iPadOS, MacOS Ventura and WatchOS are also available at the same time. While the new features for tablet, computer and watch are rather small, the iOS update brings some important new features. Here are the most interesting of them.

Options for Always-On Display

If you own an iPhone 14 Pro, you now have two new options for the Always-On Display: both the wallpaper and notifications can be deactivated individually. The smartphone then only displays the time and widgets when locked. Personally, I'm very happy about this - the lack of flexibility of the Always-On Display was one of the only criticisms of the iPhone 14 Pro in my test.

Freeform App

The new Freeform app is not only available on the iPhone, but also for the iPad and Mac. It's a digital whiteboard where you can collect ideas and inspiration. The workspace can be shared with others, which could be useful for things like collaborative brainstorming. The app supports a variety of files including photos, videos, audio files, documents, PDFs, links to websites and map locations, sticky notes, shapes and diagrams. We'll be trying out Freeform for ourselves on the Digitec editorial team over the next few days and reporting back.

Apple Music Sing

With iOS 16.2 also comes the new karaoke function for Apple Music. Sing lets you perform songs with background vocals or as a duet. Read more about it in the article by colleague Livia Gamper:

Satellite emergency call - but not yet in Switzerland

The SOS function via satellite is also available in Europe after the update. With it, you can call for help with the iPhone 14 in places without mobile phone coverage. You need a clear view of the sky because the phone connects to satellites. Because the data rate is limited, this only works with messages. You cannot make phone calls with this function. In Switzerland, the satellite emergency call is still not available. However, it should not be long before it is available in this country as well.

End-to-end encryption for iCloud

The new encryption option for iCloud will soon only be available in the USA. When activated, iCloud also encrypts photos, backups, notes, reminders, Safari bookmarks, voice memos and wallet cards "end to end". This means that without a password, no one but you can access the data - not even Apple itself. Particularly sensitive data such as passwords and data from the apps "Health" and "Maps" were already encrypted in this way. Emails, calendars and contacts remain excluded.

In the past, data was encrypted in this way.

In the past, the iPhone manufacturer was regularly criticised for handing over data from iCloud backups in response to government requests. This is no longer possible with the new encryption. However, this also means that if you lose your password, Apple no longer has any way to help you. The new option is therefore deactivated by default. It is not yet known when it will find its way to Europe.

Measures against AirDrop spam

You may be familiar with this: if you accidentally share your AirDrop "with everyone" on a train or plane, people you don't know will try to send you things - usually spam or pornographic images. With iOS 16.2, Apple has made such spam much more difficult. AirDrop can now only be opened temporarily for unknown foreign devices - after ten minutes, the iPhone switches back to the "Contacts only" setting.

What should be a welcome change for most here is a problem for protesters in China. They had used the feature to distribute digital leaflets in a bug-proof way. Apple rolled out the new restrictions on the AirDrop feature in China on 9 November, amid protests against the government's restrictive Covid policy. This drew criticism.

Pausing iCloud Private Relay

A small but useful innovation: The VPN-like service iCloud Private Relay can be temporarily disabled in Safari for the current website. To do this, tap the "aA" icon to the left of the web address. In the opened menu you can now select "Show IP address". Safari will then reload the website and give it access to your IP address. This can be helpful because some websites restrict or block access via Private Relay. Previously, you had to disable the entire service in the settings.